Next Frontier: Edge Centric, Cloud-Enabled, Data-Driven, Says HPE CEO

We believe the Edge is the next frontier, says HPE CEO Antonio Neri. “When we talk about the enterprise of the future, we see an edge-centric, cloud-enabled, data-driven, enterprise,” notes Neri. “What that means is the cloud is moving closer to where the data is created. That’s driven by the use cases we see around us.”

Neri adds: “Whether it is healthcare, manufacturing, or transportation, everything is being connected. It started with connectivity and then soon after that is the security aspect. One thing is connecting devices and apps and one thing is connecting things to the network. That’s why our Aruba platform is such a unique asset because it provides connectivity and security with AI built-in at the core.”

Driving the Acceleration of the Digital Transformation

I would like to characterize that we had another strong quarter for the company. That’s further evidence that our strategy is working to accelerate the Intelligent Edge and to drive profitable growth in the core segment of the market called Hybrid IT. Because we are continuing to build our portfolio and we see the demand steady, we’re actually very confident to raise our guidance that we obviously beat in Q1. We see the rest of fiscal year 2019 as strong for us and give us the confidence to raise the guidance driven by the portfolio and the innovation we have and in the feedback we get from customers.

We see the demand steady. We have not seen any evidence of a downturn (due to tariffs, shutdown, etc.). Obviously, we are continuing to monitor the uncertainties around the globe, but the reality is that customers are making critical investment to drive that acceleration of the digital transformation. That’s all driven by the fact that the data around us has continued to grow. They need to extract the value of that data much faster than ever before. That’s why we see growth in segments like high performance compute, which for us grew 50 percent. Software around infrastructure grew 70 percent. Also, the connectivity in the Edge grew 20 percent in the wireless business. We see that as a continued trend.

When people ask me what’s going on around the globe with Brexit, for example, our UK business actually grew double digits. When you think about the government shutdown, actually one of the key products we sell in the government is high-performance compute, and it actually grew triple digits. So it has not had the impact, but obviously, we continue to monitor what’s going on around the globe.

Next Frontier: Edge Centric, Cloud-Enabled, Data-Driven

We believe the Edge is the next frontier. When we talk about the enterprise of the future, we see an Edge centric cloud-enabled data-driven enterprise. What that means is the cloud is moving closer to where the data is created. That’s driven by the use cases we see around us. Whether it is healthcare, manufacturing, or transportation, everything is being connected. It started with connectivity and then soon after that is the security aspect. One thing is connecting devices and apps and one thing is connecting things to the network. That’s why our Aruba platform is such a unique asset because it provides connectivity and security with AI built-in at the core.

3 Cs of the Intelligent Edge

Ultimately, it brings that cloud computing closer to actually where the data is created. We think about it as an integrated solution. Obviously, we need to provide customers the tools to be able to protect themselves and be compliant with the new regulatory policies being put in place, like for example, GPI in Europe. We are really focused on that and we actually believe we have one of the best solutions at the Edge today. The data continues to outpace the compute capacity and actually, 75 percent of that data is created at the Edge. That’s very exciting and that’s why I’m bullish about these Edge compute capabilities that the customers need going forward. It’s just physics.

AI is a Big Opportunity for Us

Two years from now we’re going to create twice the amount of data that we created in our entire human history. That data needs to be stored, it needs to be managed, it needs to be compliant, and most importantly, business outcome has to be derived. That’s why we see the need to bring that cloud compute closer to where the data is in a different form factor. We see AI as a big opportunity for us and all integrated with connectivity and security.

Customers are telling us that they are accelerating the digital transformation. We have a saying that the future belongs to the fast. People who can extract insights from the data faster are going to continue to win. We are very bullish about it because we have one of the best portfolios we ever had and our innovation is second to none.

The US is Ahead with 5G

5G is going to be an exciting opportunity for us. The US is ahead and is going to be one of the first countries, if not the first country together with Japan and others, to roll out 5G. We already see evidence of that. Our opportunity with 5G is to provide customers an integrated experience. 5G is a type of connectivity, but it is not the only type of connectivity. You are talking about 5G, talking about wire connectivity, you talk about wired network connectivity or wireless connectivity.

What customers are asking us is give me one integrated experience with one security control play. That’s where Aruba fits perfectly in that we’re going to provide a cloud-based solution that integrates 5G into that experience.